Come Round Soon
by HaleyGold
Summary: Eli and Clare have spoken since Eli graduated from Degrassi, and both have been miserable since. What happens when Clare finds a drunken Eli in an alley? -An Eclare one-shot based on 'Come Round Soon' by Sara Bareilles.


_I could use another cigarette,_

_But don't worry daddy, I'm not addicted yet,_

Clare Edwards leaned against the alley wall, _his _leather jacket hanging off of her as her lungs were engulfed in the smoke she was currently filling her small body with. She wasn't addicted to the cigarettes. No, that's not why she smoked a pack a day; she liked the feel of it in between her fingers and she liked the way the smoke tasted when it danced on her lips; but the reason it stuck with her was because of _him_. He would've killed her if caught her, she knew this, but that only made her take a longer drag of the poisonous roll of tobacco in her hand.

_One too many drinks tonight and I miss you,_

_Like you were mine,_

Eli Goldsworthy sat at the bar drinking 'one too many' like he did every single afternoon after he got off of his job at the radio station; the one his dad use to have. He missed _her _again. It wasn't like she was his to miss, but he did it anyway, as he threw the warm, vile liquid down his throat without a thought. The bartender knew him by his first name now. He knew what drink Eli liked as well; straight _Vodka_. The alcohol no longer stung his throat, just warmed him up as everything he once knew became blurry.

_All your stormy words have barely broken,_

_And you sound like thunder though,_

They hadn't spoken since Eli graduated a year ago and neither of them liked it this way, but did nothing to change it. She wanted to scream at him, louder than he would scream at her, because they were angry. They were angry at _themselves_ and they were angry at _each other_.

_You've barely spoke,_

_Oh, it looks like rain tonight and thank God,_

That last year Eli had been at Degrassi, they'd barely said three words to each other as it was and on the night of Eli's graduation it started raining. Eli knew she hated the rain and he watched her from the other side of the room and she shivered with each crash of the thunder, causing him to smirk at her. He knew she would leave soon. He knew she wouldn't say 'good luck' or 'goodbye', but the small and shy smile she gave him right before walking out of the door in his brand new leather jacket was all he needed.

_He's taken and leaving,_

_But I keep believing,_

_That he's gonna come round soon,_

Imogen and Eli had been together since their senior year, but what Imogen didn't know was that Eli stuck around because he didn't want to hurt her; because, _god. _She was so beautiful, and so caring, but she _wasn't her._ He believed no one could replace her, but _she, _she had no clue. Clare didn't want to be with anyone after she found out. She hooked up meaninglessly with random guys who would never call her back the morning after. This was her life now, and _he _wasn't in it.

_You may be my final match,_

_'Cause I chase everything when you play,_

_Throw and I play catch,_

Everyone but the two knew they were soul mates and that eventually they would brought together again, whether it be ten years later or two months later, they would see each other again. They would bump into each other in the park, or at the grocery store, and they would talk about how many people Clare had chased after trying to find someone like Eli, whereas Eli would just hold her small hand in his and say how much he missed her 'pretty eyes' and the goofy smile that had always sent him reeling.

_But all the bullshit you feed me you miss me,_

_You need me,_

They would both deny it. Every time someone brought it up, they claimed they didn't know who the other was or they'd simply forgotten the other existed completely. But they both knew the truth. Every day at five in the evening, Clare would take the short walk to the alley to get her cigarettes, and sometimes weed, and waste the night away smoking them one-by-one there. And every night at seven, Eli would drive his father's old car to the smallest bar in town and order whatever he could get his hands on just to forget her for a while.

_Well I may seem naive if I cry as you leave,_

_Like I'm just one more tortured heart,_

On a cold October night, just before fall break, a choked up and disoriented Clare heard a few groans and then a noise that sounded too much like falling to her. She opened her tear filled eyes and rushed around the corner. "_Ouch._" The person muttered from their place on the pile of trash resting in the far corner of the alley. Black boots, black jeans, black button up shirt and a black tie and it was all too familiar to her. "Oh, no…" she muttered as she walked closer to see the person face and her worse fears were confirmed. "E-e-eli…is that you?" He sat a bit so he could lean on his elbows and he tilted his head drunkenly at her. "Clare, why are you here? Why do you have that cigarette?" He said with a horrible slur. Clare threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out before looking him dead in his bloodshot emerald eyes and saying. "I'm taking you home, c'mon." She pulled him up and he stumbled terribly trying to come off as sober. "We'll have to walk." She said as she put his arm around her shoulder, just as she had many times when he still went to the high school. "Okay." He muttered and leaned down to bury his throbbing head into her auburn curls.

_The angels said I'd smile today,_

_Well who needs angels anyway?_

Eli woke up in a room that he knew wasn't his. For starters it was a deep purple colour, not black. He looked around and instantly realized where he was lying, what room he was in, in exactly what house; and that's when the headache kicked in. He heard light footsteps come up the stairs almost on cue and as if nothing had ever changed she stood in the doorway, smiling at him. With two with pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other. "Good morning, Eli." She said softly as she made her way over to him. "Take this. It'll help the headache, I promise." He looked at her as if she were speaking a foreign language; not because he was delusional, but because _she _was talking to _him_. He grabbed the cup and medicine gingerly, not wanting to look too eager to touch her skin, to just feel her warmth. "Thanks. But, what happened? Why am I here?" Clare sat at the edge of the bed that was in fact hers and he was just lying in it, as some sort of miracle had happened and he'd been brought back to his Blue Eyes. "You were drunk last night and if I hadn't been out walking and heard you, you'd be some hobo's lunch by now." Eli panicked. "It's lunch? I was supposed to be at work and I'm going to get fired!" Clare hushed him and made him lie down once again. "I already called them for you, Eli. I told them you had a stomach virus." He was confused to say the least and then last night came rushing back to quickly and he sat up angrily.

_These cracks that I show as I'm watching,_

_You go,_

_Aren't tearing me apart._

"Clare Dianne Edwards!" Eli said loudly and Clare looked taken aback. "What, Elijah?" She shouted back. "You weren't just 'walking around' last night. You were hanging out in that alley last night, y-y-y-y-y-you were smoking and…crying?" Clare gulped and hung her head, knowing he would see right through her lies if she decided to tell them. She used to be against all of those sorts of things. Smoking, drinking, drugs, etc. But now it was almost obvious she'd done all of them without consequence.

They fought back and forth for at least an hour and somehow Eli had ended up back and forth by the door, and Clare had collapsed and was now sitting in the floor. Though, she couldn't see through the tears in her own eyes, Eli's cheek were stained with the tears that had been spilling over onto his face. "Clare…" He breathed out and sat down on the white carpet beside her, but not close enough to make her uncomfortable. "Eli…" She replied shakily. His voice cracked briefly as he fought to keep the next few words in. "I've missed you, Blue Eyes." He said with an aggravated sigh. She blushed deep red and smiled over at him shyly, as if they were two kids in love again. "I've missed you too, Eli. More than I ever thought I would and hell, maybe that's why I'm so damn mad at you." And with that, the two teenagers, who knew exactly what the other was thinking, just simply looked at each other and smiled/smirked.

_I could use another cigarette..._


End file.
